Hyperthermia likely killed 6 in Texas boxcar a seventh body found

The Webb County Medical Examiner is pointing to hyperthermia as the cause of death for the six individuals found in a Union Pacific boxcar in Laredo on Sunday, May 10, as a seventh possible body was found in San Antonio.

Webb County confirmed five males and one female were found dead in a news release on Tuesday, May 12.

Webb County has identified five of the six individuals:

• A 14-year-old male from Honduras.
• A 29-year-old female from Mexico.
• A 24-year-old male from Honduras.
• A 45-year-old male from Mexico.
• A 56-year-old male from Mexico.

"The Webb County Medical Examiner’s Office is working in close coordination with the Mexican Consulate to facilitate communication with the families of the deceased, ensure positive identification, and assist in the repatriation process as efficiently as possible," read the release.

During an initial autopsy of the female, the medical examiner's office determined that she had died from hyperthermia — a heat-related illness.

The remaining individuals' autopsies are still pending, but the release states that "it is highly probable that hyperthermia was the cause of death for the entire group."

Body found near San Antonio may be tied to Laredo deaths

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar confirmed a male individual was found on Monday, May 11, in the 9600 block of Wolf Road in Macdona — 150 miles north of Laredo —and is believed to be in connection with the Laredo case.

Investigators believe the seventh person is connected to the Laredo incident because officials received an alert from one of the train containers near the location over the weekend.

"On these trains, there is a sensor on some of the containers that alerts whenever a container's opened," Salazar told reporters. "Once those bodies were found in Laredo, they came back to this location here and started patrolling up and down the railroad tracks until such time that they found him."

Salazar said that investigators believe the train originated in Del Rio and split at the San Antonio station — half headed to Houston and the other half to Laredo.

Salazar could not confirm the individual's identity at the time, but could confirm that the person had a voter registration card from Mexico on him and was among the group being "smuggled" into the U.S.

Salazar also informed the media that the San Antonio Police Department received a call from an out-of-state relative of someone inside the boxcar on Saturday, May 9.

The relative was communicating with an individual in the boxcar, who said it was getting really hot and they were having some physical trouble.

"It is believed at this point that the person who shot that message to the relative out of town was among the six deceased that were found in Laredo," Salazar said.

The events leading up to the individual leaving the train's container are still under investigation.

Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas. Got a news tip for him? Email him: [email protected].